No, Chris Evans won't be in the Knives Out sequel

When Lionsgate confirmed it had given director Rian Johnson the go-ahead to make a sequel to last year’s hit murder mystery Knives Out, we immediately started putting together questions about the project. Specifically, we wondered if any of those nefarious Thrombey characters would be returning for another chance to be awful. However, there was one character whose story seemed definitively over (spoiler for a months-old film ahead): Chris Evans’ Ransom Thrombey, the spoiled scion who turned out to be a killer. But fans of enormous sweaters maintained hope the villain would make a second appearance. Sadly, those hopes are now dashed upon the comfortable, angora-swaddled shores of reality, as Johnson has confirmed that Evans—much like the film’s titular cutlery—is out.

“No Chris Evans in a chunky sweater?” The Hollywood Reporter recently asked the writer-director about the sequel, which is supposedly gearing up to go into production soon—presumably once Johnson has added sufficient “I say, I say, never!”-isms to the script for Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc to utter. “Not in my movie,” he responds, “but in real life? Probably.” Alas, such real life appearances tend to lack a clever whodunit enveloping them.

Johnson also put the kibosh on hopes for any returning characters save for his gentlemanly lead detective. “Think of it just like another Hercule Poirot novel from Agatha Christie, so a whole new location, whole new cast,” he says, adding that despite wanting Craig for the role of Blanc, he wrote it intentionally not picturing anyone in particular, explaining, “I’ve learned that you’ll always get your heart broken if you have your eyes set on somebody because the schedule will always not work out or something will happen.” There’s no announced production date for the sequel, but Johnson currently plans to make the film within the next year.